World Politics News   Articles for World Politics Course

The newly elected President of Nigeria, Buhari, has  made considerable progress in a very short period of time in at least setting a better tone for the political and economic stability of the country.  Most importantly, the military has been able to get a handle on the violence inflicted by Boko Haram.  The insurgency is still alive, but it is no longer making substantial territorial gains.   The roots of the insurgency are easy to visualize by looking at the distribution of wealth in the country which is weighted toward the south and Christian part of the country.  The larger issue, whether Nigeria can free itself of the corruption that compromised the economic potential of the country so severely.  In that respect, President Buhari has a strong favorable reputation.

In about a year, the US Navy will launch its newest aircraft carrier, the U.S.S. Gerald Ford. It will be the largest vessel ever launched:, 1,092 feet long and it will displace 100,000 tons.  It will be serviced by about 4,000 sailors and will carry 75 aircraft.  The US currently has 10 aircraft carrier groups and no other country comes close to that number.  The Ford will cost about $13 billion when it is completed.

The typical CEO made about 300 times more than the typical worker in 2014.  That ratio is not as extreme as the record of 376:1 in 2000, but it is still higher than most periods in American history.   The rate of increase for CEO compensation has been extraordinary over the last 47 years:

“From 1978 to 2014, inflation-adjusted CEO compensation increased 997 percent, a rise almost double stock market growth and substantially greater than the painfully slow 10.9 percent growth in a typical worker’s annual compensation over the same period.”

It is very difficult to figure out a justification for the increasing discrepancy in terms of traditional concerns on what constitutes appropriate compensation for a good day’s work.